Two people have been arrested over the escape of convicted murder Shaun Walmsley.

Merseyside Police arrested a 27-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender at a property in Norris Green, Liverpool, on Thursday evening.

Walmsley, 28, from Liverpool, went on the run when two men armed with a knife and a gun confronted prison officers guarding him at Aintree University Hospital during a visit from HMP Walton on Tuesday afternoon.

A police spokesman said: "The two people arrested have been taken to police stations on Merseyside where they will be questioned in relation to the escape of prisoner Shaun Walmsley."

Walmsley is described as white, 6ft tall and of slim build with dark brown hair and blue eyes.